Grieve with Hope
Read the Text: 1 Thessalonians 4
Memorize the Text:
But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has closed you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in truth.
(2 Thessalonians 2:13, CSB)
Consider the Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Grief exists as part of life. The experience of grief comes from moments like losing a loved one or facing a significant dilemma in life. Often, grief centers around the experience of losing something. However, when left unchecked and not allowed to process, grief becomes a captor in life and causes life to become a struggle. The apostle Paul knew this reality and challenged the believers in Thessalonica to grieve the loss of other believers with hope and not in the manner of the world. This charge extends to believers today and calls us to grieve with hope.
GRIEF IS NORMAL
Grief was not an emotion that existed before the fall. Before the entrance of sin, the need for grief did not exist because death and loss were absent. The Lord warned Adam and Eve that disobedience would change the dynamics and bring death. Thus, the warning of the entrance of grief extended from the Lord, but the reality occurred when the fall occurred, and the punishment of disobedience entered. Thus, we all deal with grief because we face loss since all sin and live under the effects of sin.
But why does grief exist when loss occurs? There are many reasons for the experience of grief, but three seem to dominate. First, grief occurs because of love. The love we have for others occurs because of our relationship with them. These relationships flow from an extension of the love between individuals. The experience of grief happens when we lose the one we love because the relationship is broken. We become mournful over the loss of the relationship with the experience of love in the relationship. Thus, a deep emotional connection seems severed.
Second, grief occurs because of separation. God created humanity to live in relationships and community. People were created to live with each other and support each other in life. Thus, grief appears now of separation because we experience the breakdown of what God designed. This breakdown exists because of the effects of sin. Thus, grief occurs because breaking the relationship reveals the depth of the punishment and pain of sin. At the same time, the separation causes uncertainty and pain because change occurs.
Third, grief exists because of change. Change brings uncertainty. We like to know what lies ahead of us and the certainty of the future. When change occurs, we often enter into a state of grief because we are put to death and separated from what we know. This change may occur on a personal level or a family level. Change unsettles us and often forces us to assess what we value and what we feel we have a loss. Thus, change brings forth grief.
GRIEVE WITH HOPE
The apostle Paul knew the reality of grief. He had experienced the loss of brothers and sisters in Christ and had endured many moments of change and pain. Yet, writing from personal experience and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Paul charged the believers in Thessalonica to mourn differently than those in the world because of the presence of hope. We must note that the apostle did not say, “do not grieve,” but said, “when your grieve.” The apostle stated this because he knew that grief exists as a normal emotional response to loss.
The apostle called believers to grieve in hope by trusting in God's promises. Believers grieve in hope by trusting in the promise of restoration. We hold that the Lord makes all things new and that he restores the broken to perfection. We believe that he promises to remove pain and suffering and restore that which was marred by sin. At the same time, we grieve in a manner that looks forward in hope to the return of Christ. We believe and hold to the promise that Christ will return, claim the ultimate victory, and gather his children home with him for eternity. Thus, we grieve, trusting in the promised restoration and return that allows for a reunion. We grieve, looking forward to the day of a great reunion with the Lord and with those who have gone before us. Thus, our grief occurs under the parameters of God’s great promises.
The apostle charged the believers to grieve properly by trusting in the work of Christ. When we grieve, it occurs under the influence of Christ’s work on the cross and in the resurrection. This truth reminds us of the reality of salvation when faced with sin’s effects. Thus, the presence of salvation and the promises of salvation that come through Christ’s work shape the manner of our mourning. At the same time, we grieve in the present while remembering the future. We understand the pain and proper grief at the moment but must look to the future to not become held captive by grief. Grief has a way of trapping us and wanting to hold onto us. But as followers of Christ, we must grieve in the certainty of Christ and hold claim to the promised victory and battle to walk through grief and not become defined and held captive by grief.
You will experience grief. Maybe grief appears in the death of a loved one or when an event causes broken relationships and change. The feeling of grief is not wrong, but as a follower of Christ, we must process grief through the presence of Christ and the truth of his promises. We must grieve not like the world that lives hopelessly apart from Christ but in hope because of our hope in Jesus.
This blog is part of the Coffee and Quiet Time with Jesus Devotional Series found at equippingfaith.com. Join the journey of reading through the New Testament this year. More information can be found at equippingfaith.com.
